Are you one of those people who frequently says, “where did the time go”?

This happens to a lot of us, especially when we get too busy. Like when you’re burning the candle at both ends busy.

“Busy” probably describes most people but being ‘too busy’ is what I want to focus on with this post. In particular, I want to talk about how easy it is even on our best days for God to occasionally get left out, while on those ‘too busy’ days He likely isn’t even thought of at all.

I’m one of those who believe that the Lord is at work in our lives each day. Because of this, I recognize that His presence is also a daily occurrence in my life.

My point being that I never have to wonder if God is with me. I know that He is.

Now, does that mean I don’t have times when I question “Lord, where are you”? Of course not! Like all of you, I am sometimes slow to adjust to God’s timing, thinking that He should react immediately to my petitions.

We all know that the Lord just doesn’t work like that.

Well, at least He doesn’t in my life.

None of this however changes the fact that God is always with us. He is the faithful one in our relationship, and fortunately for all of us he is never ‘too busy’ for us, nor does he forget about us. I don’t know how He does it, but somehow, He always makes time for us.

We, on the other hand, can get so busy with this thing we call ‘life’ that God gets shoved aside. Just stop for a moment and think of all the things you’ve done today and add those to tomorrow’s ‘to do list’, and you get a picture of how busy your life really is.

Seriously, some of us could apply for the position of a circus juggler because we are constantly having to juggle our time and schedules.

What’s amazing about this is that we don’t even realize it. In fact, it’s our everyday, normal life isn’t it? It’s like a saying we used to use at work that “the abnormal has become normal”.

Herein is the danger of becoming too busy with life. We don’t realize how much of ourselves we are constantly pouring into other things, people, or causes.

All at the expense of allowing God to pour into us, which He cannot do because we are too busy with everything else but Him!

The apostle Paul recognized the danger of allowing ourselves to become entangled in a multitude of things, things that eventually entrap us much like a bird in a snare. In his 2nd letter to Timothy, Paul wrote the following:

“No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” 2 Tim. 2:4

As in all of his writings, Paul sees the relationship we have with Christ as one where we are in a battle. We have been enlisted as soldiers in God’s army, with a duty to carry out His orders.

Paul understands that if we are to please the One who is giving us our marching orders, we cannot become entangled with the affairs of this life. To do so would cause our attention to be diverted away from the task He has assigned to us.

Many of you can no doubt relate to being pulled a hundred different directions at one time, and this is what Paul is warning us against. Simply put, if we have become ‘too busy’ to be able to respond to our Leader, we have ceased to be a soldier that is pleasing to Him.

All of us have causes and projects that we support or have any number of family obligations that must be attended to. Paul is not telling us to abandon those things, but rather to make sure they do not become a snare to us.

The key here is to strike a balance between life’s obligations and giving time and attention to the One who makes our lives possible.

By doing this, we don’t have to worry about becoming ensnared by the everyday affairs of this life. We can be productive, positive members of society and also good soldiers of the One who has called us.

Yesterday I had the incredible privilege of attending the funeral service for a 95 year old father, grandfather, WWII veteran, and faithful Christian man named Eddie. My wife and I had been asked to provide part of the music and singing, and of course we gladly volunteered to help.

Listening to this man’s two sons speak so eloquently of their father brought many tears to my eyes, for it was easy to sense the deep, abiding love they had for him. But there was one thing that was said that impacted me more deeply than anything else.

As the eldest son came to the front of the church, dressed smartly in the same full dress uniform he had proudly worn many years ago, everyone listened intently as he began to share with us how that recently his father had begun to grieve over the conditions in America being played out on the news.

You have to understand that this man was a decorated soldier who sacrificed everything to fight for the freedoms you and I enjoy today,and watching Americans turn on one another broke his heart.

Having served in no less than five European countries during WWII, participating in countless battles,including the infamous Battle of the Bulge, this man knew sacrifice and hardship like few of us can even imagine.

Yet unbelievably, at the end of his life he wondered if not only his own sacrifice, but that of millions of others had not been in vain. To set by and watch the nation he fought for be torn apart from within was more than he could bear.

This patriot,to whom America is deeply indebted,died feeling like the country he loved so dearly had betrayed him and his fellow soldiers. He stated on several occasions that the country he loved was being taken from him,and those of his generation, and I’m pretty sure if you were to ask,most veterans would agree with this assessment.

Listening to all of this broke my heart, and the fact that I had met this man only a couple of times prior to his death did nothing to diminish the impact of these powerful words from a man who was part of America’s “Greatest Generation”.

All of us would do well to step back and really think about the sacrifices made by prior generations, sacrifices that we continue to benefit from today. Whether we choose to accept it or not, the fact is that the entire world as we know it would be a much darker place had those before us not responded to freedoms cry.

As we topple the images of our past in a vain attempt to erase the painful memories associated with them, we would do well to remember that just like its individual citizens, our nation has made many,many mistakes, some of which have scarred this nation with a perpetual open wound.

None of which however can ever be forgotten,either individually or collectively.

The mistakes of our past are part of our history,and history cannot be rewritten, though many have tried and continue to try to do so today. The truth however, is still the truth. All we can do is move forward, not backward as we seem to be doing.

Eddie knew his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for many decades, and in the end it was this relationship with Jesus that kept him pressing toward the mark in spite of what was going on in America.

For you see, it was Jesus Christ that gave him hope for a future. An eternal future without violence and hatred. A future without racism and bigotry. A future where there would be no need for another world war. A future where sacrifices ceased.

A future not of this world…

As America continues on its march to abandon democracy in favor of socialism, as she slips further and further away from her Godly heritage, hope in this life will eventually become non existent.

The only hope available will be the hope we have in Christ.

As I close this post, the words to a song written about a soldier going home are ringing in my mind tonight, so I thought I would share them with you.

Verse 1

His back is bent and weary, His voice is tired and low
His sword is worn from battle, And his steps have gotten slow
But he used to walk on water, Or it seemed that way to me
I know he moved some mountains, And never left his knees

Chorus
Strike up the band assemble the choir, Another soldier’s comin’ home
Another warrior hears the call, He’s waited for so long
He’ll battle no more, ‘Cause he’s won his wars
Make sure heaven’s table, Has room for at least one more
Sing a welcome song, Another soldier’s comin’ home

Verse 2
He faced the winds of sorrow, But his heart knew no retreat
He walked in narrow places, Knowing Christ knew no defeat
But now his steps turn homeward, So much closer to the prize
He’s sounding kind of homesick, There’s a longing in his eyes

You’ve been there, haven’t you? That place where in spite of everyone’s best intentions and most comforting words, you need to hear from God himself. Nothing or no one else will do.

I’ve been there. Lived there and thought I’d die there. That place of lonely desolation, as arid and dry as the Sahara. The thrill of the mountain top gives way to the sinking sands of the desert, where there is no escape and no hope in sight. You know what’s amazing about those experiences? We share them with some pretty lofty company. Take David for example. David knew a lot of mountain top experiences didn’t he?

Giant killer extraordinaire, lions and bears were no match for his bravery. Songs sung in his honor extolled his valor on the battlefield. He was a warrior without equal, leader of the armies of Israel.

Have you ever thought about yourself in the same light as David? Well, maybe you should! Haven’t you defeated some pretty big giants in your life? No, I’m not referring to a nine foot tall giant named Goliath, but I imagine if you think about it, you’ve slain even bigger ones!

Ever defeat a giant called addiction? Or how about giants from your past, remember the thrill of victory when you realized they would trouble you no longer?

All of us are potential giant slayers in Christ because “greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world“(1st John 4:4)!

There are many voices out there today that are telling us that we can have complete victory over every giant we encounter. But is that reality?

Even as a Christian, in spite of the admonition of scripture and the multitudes of examples recorded for all times sake, sometimes we stumble along the way.

The truth is that as much as we want to, we aren’t likely to subdue every single giant we encounter. With the help of the Lord, often keeping them at bay for a season is cause enough to rejoice.

Just keeping it real here folks.

Now, despite all the accolades ascribed to David, he also had his share of experiences that were not exactly the stuff legends are made of. The one most people know about of course is his affair with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband.

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Quite the fall from the mountain top, wouldn’t you say? In fact, the rise and fall of David is one of the greatest examples in history of a man who fell from the proverbial penthouse to the outhouse.

Years before that tragic event however, David experienced another situation that brought him to his knees, and while the cause was not as devastating as the one previously mentioned, the potential consequences were nonetheless a matter of life and death.

David escaped from King Saul and fled into the wilderness where he led a small army of bandits, and where he eventually aligned himself with the Philistines. As the Philistines were about to engage Israel in battle, David and his men being part of their army, David was sent away out of fear he would turn and fight for Israel instead.

Upon returning to a city named Ziklag, where he and his men had left their families in safety, they found the city burned and their families taken away. You can hear the anguish in the voices of his followers as they recognized what had happened:

Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. 1st Samuel 30:4-6 NKJV

Do you see what David did? In the midst of great personal anguish and tragedy, as well as the grief of all of his men, David strengthened himself in the Lord.

In this critical hour, when everything near and dear to him had been taken from him, David understood the secret of not only personal survival, but complete restoration as well. In short, he knew where to turn.

Wisdom teaches that all battle hardened soldiers eventually come to the place where they will either succumb to their fears or prevail over them, in large part due to the size of their heart. That being a soldier can be a life of weariness and fatigue, loneliness and despair, and often as not reinforcements are a long ways off.

The wise soldier in God’s army also understands that strength and encouragement comes from the Lord, that sometimes it has to get down to just you and God, because nothing else will do.

Whether first, last, or somewhere in between, God is always enough.

Be blessed,

Ron

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